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OWLS Global Educational Consultant Services

We come and live with you for one week:

Day 1: Informal observations across activities, grades and classrooms - all day

Having 'official looking' strangers poking around a school can be unsettling. Feelings of concern and suspicion can naturally arise. Preparing staff and students for occasional intrusions, explaining what is happening, and allowing concerned parties to ask questions helps to create a smooth beginning. Trust is fundamental to all relationships, and it is important to begin building trust right away through transparent processes.

An OWLS Observer will want to drop in to see portions of regular lessons already in session. We mainly focus on the learners: What questions are guiding their work? How much and how comfortably are learners interacting? What resources are the learners accessing? and more ... Our objective is to see a range of subjects taught by a variety of teachers across the span of grades.

As questions arise, we may sound out teachers, course leaders and / or administrators. We're seeking to understand the "big picture", not to analyse specific teachers, subject-delivery or student conduct.

We want to lay good foundations for the week: to get to know staff members (and student / community leaders?), to let them become comfortable with us, and to 'rediscover' together issues related to character, vision and effective communication.

Seeking Direction

At the end of Day 1, we offer our overview - our observations and our key questions - in a confidential discussion with the administration and / or departmental head(s). The questions, issues and tantalizing possibilities which arise from this end-of-day discussion will guide the next stages of our exploration.

In collaboration with you (our hosts) we will want to schedule short, confidential consultations with the broadest possible range of 'stakeholders'. We will explore the range of responses to similar questions offered by different members of the school. Names and specific details which we note will be kept confidential. However, our goal is to gain and then communicate a clear analysis of thinking on the issues we are collaborating on

Final decisions about how wide (entire school + community) or narrow (particular section, teachers and students only) this consultation will be naturally rest with the school authorities.

Day 4: Feedback & Action-Planning - collective consolidation

We meet with you to summarise all of our consultations and observations, and to propose the widest possible range of opportunities for change. The goal is to ask (and answer) two main questions:

What is the present situation?

What new directions (if any) would move us toward even greater success?

An effective "Action Plan" will take present realities into account and point in the direction of S.M.A.R.T. goals.

If you wish, this discussion can be expanded to include staff leaders, the staff as a whole, student leaders and more ...

With Day 4's general consensus (the "Action Plan") in hand, we will again ask to schedule consultations with relevant groups and their leaders. The aim will be for each group to collaborate on "realizing" the goals. We will seek help each group identify:

Specific: Specify detailed short-term and long-term goals relevant to their area

Measurable: Talk about what 'success' will look like: How many? What quality?

Achievable: Think through ways and means needed to reach these goals. What resources do we have? Are other skills or resources needed?

Realistic: Your people are all already busy. How can new initiatives be 'balanced' with previous practices and responsibilities?

Time-limited: Determine - together - how we'll regroup and assess these changes, and decide on adjustments in 'the journey'.

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